Food data access and delivery system

ABSTRACT

An improved system for accessing food data and tracking a user&#39;s food intake includes a nutrition information system 600 and a mobile PDA or smartphone-based tag reading system 900. The two systems 600 and 900 are configured to communication. The mobile tag reading system 900 includes a tag capture device 902 for reading the nutritional tag, and a decoder 904 for decoding the header or visual effects included in the nutritional tag to identify the predetermined profile. The decoder 904 is also configured to decode the nutritional tag to generate the subset of the dietary product descriptions and associated nutritional values based upon the predetermined profile. A tracking log 908 is included for storing the associated nutritional values or the modified associated nutritional values based upon input from the user.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No.14/766,866, “Electronically Readable Dietary Tag and Reader,” filed Aug.10, 2015, which claims priority to PCT/US2014/016326, “ElectronicallyReadable Dietary Tag and Reader,” filed Feb. 13, 2014, which claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/764,172, “ElectronicallyReadable Dietary Tag and Reader,” filed Feb. 13, 2013. Each of theseapplications is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

This application also claims priority to: U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/184,160, “Electronically Readable Dietary Tag andReader,” filed Jun. 24, 2015; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/197,854, “Electronically Readable Dietary Tag and Reader,” filed Jul.28, 2015; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/293,230,“Electronically Readable Dietary Tag and Reader,” filed Feb. 9, 2016;U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/293,709, “ElectronicallyReadable Dietary Tag and Reader,” filed Feb. 10, 2016; and U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/334,078, “Scannable NutritionCoded Tag Integration,” filed May 10, 2016. Each of these applicationsis hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates generally to the field of food dataaccess systems, and more specifically to technical improvements in thefield of computer-based identification of food data and systems fordelivering food data on demand.

BACKGROUND

Studies have shown that people who track what they eat on paper, in anapp, or in some other record, have better success at losing weight,managing their diet, controlling their portions, and sticking to healthyeating habits. For example, individuals who keep a food diary, or aregular log of what they've eaten and when, are more conscious of whatthey've eaten and are better able to maintain a healthy diet, evenwithout counting calories. One study concluded that people who kept ajournal were more likely to keep the weight they lost off, and anotherreview of studies concluded that people who kept a record of their mealsand kept up with diet and exercise lost nearly twice as much weight aspeople who did not keep a log. (Kaiser Permanente. “Keeping A Food DiaryDoubles Diet Weight Loss, Study Suggests.” ScienceDaily, 8 Jul. 2008.www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080708080738.htm.)

Tools have been developed to help individuals track their diets. Currenttrackers enable users to access food data by searching various databasesof foods. There are many drawbacks, however, with this approach. Thedatabases are often incomplete and the foods that the user is searchingfor are not included or the search results do not correlate well to theintended food the user is searching for. For example, searching forpeppers brings up different color peppers, different kinds of peppers,e.g., chili versus bell, and different spices.

More importantly, many databases are created with crowd-sourced data sothat the data may not be accurate nor is it clear what food informationwas used to generate each of the food entries. To illustrate thisproblem, one can do a search using a popular food tracker calledMyFitnessPal (MFP) for Chicken Tikka Marsala. The MFP tracker returnsapproximately 20,000 results all of which are based on differentrecipes, possibly sides like rice that are served with the dish, andother factors that are not known to the user initiating the search. Ifthe user has ordered a menu item from a restaurant, he may be able tonarrow the search by entering the restaurant name as a search term. Buteven doing that still creates a long list of items that the user needsto search through to try to estimate which item approximates the foodthat the user is searching for. To illustrate this, consider thefollowing. Potbelly sandwich shops provide a nutrition information pagefor their sandwiches. A Wreck sandwich is served on multigrain bread,with roast beef, turkey salami, ham and Swiss cheese. Some people choosedifferent kinds of breads, make different meat and cheese choices, andadd different toppings (tomatoes, mayo, etc.). A search in MFP for aPotbelly A Wreck sandwich yields 135 different search results rangingfrom about 220 calories to about 800 calories. There is no way to tellwhich result, if any, match the combination of ingredients the user isinterested in and there is no way from the listing alone that a usercould determine if the data is accurate. A user could go to the Potbellynutrition page and make the custom selections he is interested in andcalculate the corresponding nutrition information but then the userwould have to manually enter that information into his tracker and savea new Potbelly A Wreck sandwich, making a 136th entry.

Some restaurants also provide only very incomplete information such asthe total number of calories for the cheeseburger and fries. There is noway for a user to modify the information if the user only plans to eathalf the fries, substitute the fries for a salad, decides to hold thecheese, or adds BBQ sauce to the burger. Other restaurants and venueswhere people eat, e.g., banquets, company picnics, grab and go counters,pot lucks, dinner parties, etc., don't provide any nutrition informationfor the foods being served. So a user can only search for the individualingredients that are easily identifiable in the food served.

Given all of these challenges it is extremely inefficient, timeconsuming and tedious to ascertain food data and track it. The problemsthat individuals face in food tracking today are well documented inBarriers and Negative Nudges: Exploring Challenges in Food Journaling,Cordeiro et al. (available athttp://www.depstein.net/pubs/fcordeiro_chil5.pdf). The inventive systemdescribed below addresses these challenges.

SUMMARY

The inventive system improves the process of tracking consumption for alarge variety of foods, including those prepared from recipes or servedby venues, thus making it easier and more efficient for individuals tomake better choices. Illustrative embodiments of the present inventioncoordinate the use of ubiquitous technology to enable a user'ssmartphone to record the data important to the user's unique nutritionneeds, whether at a store, restaurant, kitchen, or wherever else fooditems are consumed.

In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention provides a tag readingsystem configured for use with a nutrition information system, where thenutrition information system includes a database storing dietary productdescriptions and associated nutritional information. A computer coupledto the database is configured to generate a nutritional tag representinga subset of the dietary product descriptions and associated nutritionalinformation based upon one of a plurality of predetermined profiles. Thenutritional tag includes a header or visual effects, or both. The headeror visual effects are coded symbols representing a specificpredetermined profile.

In the exemplary embodiment, the tag reading system includes a tagcapture device for reading the nutritional tag, a decoder for decodingthe header or visual effects included in the nutritional tag to identifythe predetermined profile, and then decoding the nutritional tag togenerate the subset of the dietary product descriptions and associatednutritional values based upon the predetermined profile. A tracking logis also included in the tag reading system for accumulating nutritionalvalues extracted from previously read nutritional tags. A tracking logmodification module is also included for creating modified nutritionalvalues in the tracking log based on food substitutions selected by theuser.

The structure of the nutritional tags in combination with the structuralfeatures of the nutrition information system and tag reading system,including logical structures and processes, synergistically cause anumber of advantageous technical effects. Importantly, the system ismore efficient in logging users' daily food intake. Moreover, the systemis able to more accurately, and more precisely, log the users' foodintake. The use of a central database storing dietary productdescriptions and nutritional information, in combination with theinventive nutrition tags and smartphone-based tag reading system,improves the process of collecting, organizing, and presenting nutritiondata for a large variety of foods.

Other aspects of the present invention are described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description arebetter understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings.For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in thedrawings exemplary constructions of the invention; however, theinvention is not limited to the specific methods and instrumentalitiesdisclosed. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout thedrawings.

FIG. 1 shows a system according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a process for generating a network tag according to oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows a sample input screen in connection with the tag generatorapplication.

FIG. 4 shows a process for tracking and modifying items consumed.

FIG. 5A shows an exemplary user interface that could be used by a userto proportion the sub-items according to the amounts the user actuallyconsumed.

FIG. 5B shows the relative portions of sub-items changed in FIG. 5A.

FIG. 5C shows an exemplary user interface that could be used by a userto substitute one sub-item for another.

FIG. 5D shows a user interface that could be displayed after the userhas indicated the desired substitution in FIG. 5C.

FIG. 5E shows additional user interface elements for implementing themodification features of the inventive system.

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative process for employing a network serviceprovider in making changes.

FIG. 7A shows an exemplary message for requesting a change.

FIG. 7B shows an exemplary user interface populated for changing portionsizes.

FIG. 8 shows a process for identifying registered venues located near aregistered user.

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary implementation of the user application, usersearch application and venue network application.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary process for implementing a loyalty program.

FIG. 11 shows an illustrative process for scanning a venue-unique tag.

FIGS. 11A-11K schematically depict exemplary nutritional tags andvarious aspects thereof, including BCD coding, and headers and visualeffects representative of a predetermined profile.

FIG. 12 depicts illustrative screenshots for importing a recipe using anembedded browser.

FIG. 13 depicts an illustrative architecture including a databaseserver, application server, and user level.

FIG. 14 depicts an overview of a service-oriented architecture (SOA) forenhanced scalability and extensibility.

FIG. 15 depicts an example theme for an Admin Area.

FIGS. 16A-Q depict illustrative mobile app wireframe diagrams depictingfunctional elements of a mobile app user interface.

FIGS. 17A-R depict illustrative web application wireframe diagrams,which depict functional elements of a web application user interface.

FIGS. 18A, 18B, and 18C depict exemplary user interface elementsdesigned for the efficient input of a new ingredient as an extra and thecreation of a meal by grouping together ingredients and recipes.

FIG. 19 schematically depicts a presently preferred embodiment of anoverall system in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

We will now describe illustrative embodiments of the present invention.With reference to FIGS. 1-11, we provide a detailed description ofvarious aspects on our inventive solutions to the problems encounteredin the prior art. Then, with reference to FIGS. 12-18C we describeexemplary user interface elements. Finally, with reference to FIG. 19,we describe our overall system for tracking a user's food intake,including a database storing dietary product descriptions and associatednutritional information, a computer configured to generate a nutritionaltag, and a mobile tag reading system.

I. Electronically Readable Dietary Tag and Reader, FIGS. 1-11

One embodiment of the present invention contemplates an electronicallyreadable tag as described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos.62/184,160 and 62/197,854, entitled “Electronically Readable Dietary Tagand Reader” filed Jun. 24 and Jul. 28, 2015, respectively. FIG. 1 showsa system according to one embodiment of the invention. A venue thatserves or sells foods would use a tag generator application 10 togenerate an encoded tag 30. Preferably the tag generator applicationinterfaces to an ingredients database 20 that stores nutritional andother information such as allergens or other substances that may befound in the various ingredients that are used to make items that thevenue serves or sells to its customers. The tag generator applicationcompiles the information and stores it in the network tag database 25.The tag generator application 10 encodes the information according to apredetermined profile as described, for example, in U.S. applicationSer. No. 14/766,866. The venue may print the tag on a sales receipt, onmenus, on signage or in any other manner that may be used to associatethe tag with the corresponding item. It should be understood that thetag may be provided in electronic form or transmitted to a user in avariety of ways. Several of such ways are described in U.S. applicationSer. No. 14/766,866.

A user having a tag reader 40 will scan a tag associated with an itemthat a user has consumed or is considering consuming. The tag reader 40is configured to decode the scanned tag. Once the scanned tag isdecoded, the decoded information is stored in the user's log 50. If theuser desires to modify the logged information by changing the portionsize or making a substitution, the user may invoke the change module 60.A user could make the changes before anything is logged and then onlylog after the changes are made. In one embodiment of the invention thetag reader 40, consumer log 50 and change module 60 are all part of auser application 65 accessible from one or more of the user's devicessuch as a mobile phone, laptop computer, tablet, desk top computer,wearable device or any other computing device. The change module 60connects to the network tag database 25 and the ingredients database 20to look up the relevant changes and overwrite the new information in thelog 50. In one embodiment of the invention the network tag database 25is stored on a secure server that is accessible only to registeredvenues and registered users.

FIG. 2 shows a process for generating a network tag according to oneembodiment of the present invention. A venue registers at 110 to becomepart of the network and receives a unique network ID. After registeringthe venue may initiate a tag generation application at 120. The taggeneration application will prompt the venue to input a first item thatthe venue serves at 130. The item, for illustrative purposes only, is aprime rib dinner with prime rib, garlic mashed potatoes and seasonalvegetables. In response, the venue can input the name of the item “primerib dinner” at 140. The application may also prompt the venue to inputthe sub-items that are served when a user orders the item at 150. (Inthis context, “sub-item” refers to each part of an item as it is servedby a venue.) In this example, the venue would input prime rib, garlicmashed potatoes, and seasonal vegetables at 160. The application wouldfurther prompt the venue to enter the ingredients for each sub-itemalong with their respective quantity for the sub-items at 170.Continuing with the example, the venue could enter at 180:

8 oz of prime rib,

1 cup of garlic mashed potatoes comprising ½ potato, ¼ cup of skim milk,2 garlic cloves, 2 tbsp of Acme brand butter, ⅛ tsp of salt and ⅛ tsp ofpepper

1.5 cups of seasonal vegetables comprising ⅓ cup zucchini, ⅓ cup yellowsquash, ⅓ cup red pepper, ½ cup chopped cauliflower, ½ tablespoon ofoil, fresh rosemary

Building the menu item can be implemented in a variety of ways and theinvention is not limited to these precise steps.

A sample input screen illustrating steps 130 to 170 for the aboveexample is shown in FIG. 3. As shown, the input screen in this exampleincludes input fields for venue name, network ID, item number, itemname, sub items, ingredients, amount, and units.

Returning to FIG. 2, the application will store the input information inthe network tag database 25 in association with the venue's uniquenetwork ID at 185. The application may automatically look up basicnutrition and allergen information associated with the ingredients andthe specific portions input or it may wait until prompted by the venueat 190. If the venue requests the look up, preferably the applicationpermits the venue to specify a particular standard profile at 186. In apreferred embodiment, the application will display the nutritional andallergen information for each sub-item and the item so that the venuecan assess if the information input was correct at 200. If theinformation is not correct, the venue may make any changes at 210. Afterany changes are made, the new item name, sub-item names, ingredients orquantities are stored in the network tag database overwriting the priorinformation at 185, and the ingredient look-up with the new informationis performed at 190. Once the venue has entered the ingredientscorrectly, it may generate a tag at step 220. All of the ingredientswill be stored in the network tag database 25 along with thecorresponding items, sub-items, and venue unique network ID at 215.

A user may track the nutritional and other information pertaining to theitems consumed according to the process shown in FIG. 4. The tag 30preferably includes the nutritional and other information encoded inaccordance with the predetermined profile entered at step 186 shown inFIG. 2. At 300 the user scans the encoded tag preferably using a tagreader 40 stored on a mobile device. The tag's profile is determinedbased on the header or other indicia at 310. The tag is then decoded inaccordance with the identified profile at 320. The nutritional and otherinformation resulting from the decoding step 320 is stored in the user'slog 50 at 330 along with the venue's unique network ID and the itemname. It should be understood that the tag itself may be storedimmediately after scanning and decoded and logged in accordance withsteps 320 and 330 at a later time. Such delay may be useful if the userintends to modify the portions or make substitutions as described below.

In one embodiment of the invention, the user can optionally modify anitem that has been logged at step 330 as shown at step 340. If the userwishes to modify an item, for example by modifying a portion or bymaking a substitution, the user selects an item at 345. The selectionstep 345 may be implemented, by way of example only, by displaying alist of the user's logged items from which the user may electronicallyselect one or more of the listed items, or the user could instead searchfor a specific item. It should be further understood that the number ofitems listed could be based on a variety of factors such as forillustrative purposes only the items logged in the past day. The userwould select the item to be modified at 345 and would make the desiredchanges to the item at 350. The changes may be implemented in a varietyof ways as is described below. Once the changes are made, a new look-upis performed in accordance with step 360.

In addition, the tag will preferably include a venue field with theunique network ID such that each venue that has registered to becomepart of the network has an individually unique ID. Since the network tagdatabase 25 stores the amounts and ingredients for the various items,registered users and venues can access the database to “break it down”so that modifications can be made based on elimination of certainingredients or decisions not to eat certain portions, e.g., only atehalf the garlic mashed potatoes. It should be understood that if thenetwork tag database 25 is secured with access only to registered usersand venues, users and venues may only be given access to the iteminformation in the user's own log or the items generated by thecorresponding venue, respectively.

FIG. 5A shows an exemplary user interface that could be used toproportion the sub-items according to the amounts the user actuallyconsumed. As shown in FIG. 5A there is a plate graphic 400 with theserving size portions of the sub-items as entered by the venue. Usingthe example above, 8 oz of prime rib, 1 cup of garlic mashed potatoes,and 1.5 cups of seasonal vegetables, the user may use graphical controlssuch as those shown at 410 to adjust the portions 420 of the sub-items.

In FIG. 5B the relative portions are preferably displayed at 420 alongwith the sub-item name given by the venue as adjustments are made withgraphical controls 410. Once the user has adjusted the portions 420, theuser can preferably indicate that the consumer log 50 should be updatedwith the new portion sizes and/or other information. The change module60 will retrieve new values based on the modified ingredients or amountsand replace the corresponding values in the consumer log 50.

FIG. 5C shows an exemplary user interface that could be used by a userto substitute one sub-item for another. In this example, assume that theuser wishes to substitute potato salad for garlic mashed potatoes. Theuser according to this example selects the garlic mashed potatoes asindicated at 440. The relevant sub-items that could be substituted couldthen be displayed, as shown for example at 450.

FIG. 5D shows a user interface that could be displayed after the userhas indicated the desired substitution. There are other ways toimplement portion controls and substitutions, as will be understood bythose of skill in the art of user interface design.

FIG. 5E shows additional user interface elements for implementing themodification features of the inventive system in a smartphone based app.

In another embodiment of the invention, the user may wish to modify thelogged info by requesting the modified information by, for example,sending a request to a network service provider and having the networkservice provider send back the modified information. FIG. 6 shows anillustrative process for this embodiment of the invention. A user scansa tag and then logs the decoded information as described above by way ofexample in connection with FIG. 4. The user selects the taggedinformation at step 500 and sends a message to a network serviceprovider at step 510 describing the desired changes or substitutions.The selection step 500 may be implemented in numerous ways. For example,the user could select the venue network ID and the item information asstored in the user log. In another example, the user could select thetag itself as described above in connection with FIG. 2. The messagingstep 510 may also be implemented in numerous ways. For example a textmessage could be generated including the selected information with theuser's specified modifications or substitutions. Alternatively, the usercould be prompted for the network ID and item name as well as thechanges desired.

In FIG. 6, the message is received by the network service provider atstep 520. The network service provider looks up the informationassociated with the venue unique network ID and item name from thenetwork tag database 25 at step 530. The network service provider makesthe requested portion changes and/or ingredient substitutions at step540. The network service provider then sends a modified tag back to theuser at step 550. The user, using its consumer application 65, replacesthe information logged from the original tag with the informationdecoded from the new tag at step 560. The user may store the modifiedtag, corresponding recipe or menu item at 570 in one embodiment forlater use when consuming the same modified item from the same venue.

In another embodiment of the invention, the user may be notified ofitems the user logged when visiting a particular venue again or when inthe vicinity of the same venue. For example, if a user purchased a hamand cheese sandwich on whole grain bread with mustard at the Ma & Pop'scorner deli, the user application 65 can be set to check for prior itemsconsumed at the venue.

FIG. 7A shows an exemplary message and FIG. 7B shows an exemplary userinterface populated pursuant to steps 500 and 510. It should also beunderstood, that the change request could also be made by a venue's POSterminal based on the user's specific order and submitted from the POSterminal to the network service provider directly. The change requestcould direct the network service provider to modify the tag and returnit to the POS terminal to be printed on a receipt or wirelesslytransferred to the user, returned directly to the user for the user tolog, or could enter the relevant information directly into the user'slog. It should be understood that the above examples are forillustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention.

FIG. 8 shows a process that could be implemented by the consumerapplication 65 to identify previous items consumed. The consumerapplication may optionally be set at step 700 to recognize venues wherethe user has previously consumed items. The consumer application willsearch for venue network IDs at step 710 as described below anddetermine at step 720 if a discovered venue network ID matches a venuenetwork ID stored in the user's log. If there is a match, the consumerapplication will notify the user at step 730 and display the venue nameand names of items consumed at step 740. In one embodiment of theinvention, the consumer application will display any modifications orsubstitutions the user had made to the previous items consumed. If nomatch is determined at 720, the consumer application continues to searchat 710 until a match is found. The search at step 720 may be implementedin many ways. For example, the consumer application 65 launched from amobile device could connect to the venue's WiFi network. Once connected,the venue would provide the venue's network ID. As an example of adifferent approach, the mobile device could use the GPS or otherlocation service or technique to identify the location of the user andthen based on the location identify the venues close by that areregistered with Network IDs. In this latter example, those skilled inthe art would understand that the location of each registered venuedesiring to participate in the search feature could be stored inassociation with the venue's unique network ID.

In another embodiment, a venue can register with multiple locations sothat the consumer application could look up and display any previousitems consumed at any of the venue's locations when determining that theuser has entered the venue or is nearby any of the venue locations.Correspondingly, a user could select certain items in its log andinitiate a search for the closest location for the associated venue.Venues with multiple locations would preferably indicate when generatingtags for their respective items if certain items are only available atcertain locations so that such information could be stored in thenetwork tag database 25 (FIG. 1).

The consumer application 65 in one embodiment of the invention may alsopermit the user to select certain search criteria, such as forillustration purposes only, meals that meet certain dietary thresholds,e.g., 5 Weight Watchers® points or Zone® ratio meals. Alternatively, theconsumer application could be programmed to monitor the user'sconsumption trends. For example, every weekday the user eats lunch outand typically orders a salad. If it is about the time of day when theuser normally eats lunch, the consumer application in this embodimentwould search for venues that serve salads and display the venue name,location and salads including the nutritional and other informationassociated with the salads. To provide another example, if a usertypically consumes more protein, and presumably should consider findinga high protein meal, the consumer application may notify the user thathe or she is low on protein and then search for venues that serve highprotein meals displaying the venue names, locations and high proteinmeals with their associated nutritional information. It should beunderstood that venue locations for all of the above search scenariosmay be shown by address or by map such as by interfacing with a commonmapping application. It should further be understood that the foregoingexamples are for illustrative purposes only and not intended to limitthe invention.

FIG. 9 shows among other features of the invention an exemplaryimplementation of the Search Venue Feature described above in connectionwith FIG. 8. The consumer application 65 according to this aspect of theinvention comprises a meal selection module 800. According to thisaspect of the invention, a user interfaces with the meal selectioncriteria to set search criteria as discussed above, e.g., 5 WeightWatchers® points or Zone® ratio meals, or other criteria. The searchcriteria are provided by the meal selection module 800 to the SearchVenue Module 810. The Search Venue Module 810 searches the network tagdatabase 25 for registered venues proximate to the user as describedabove that serves items that meet the specified criteria. According toanother embodiment of the invention, the user may enable the trendmonitor module 820, which monitors the consumer log 50, to detect trendssuch as whether the user's current diet is low on protein or some othernutrient or if the user might be looking for a venue to purchase a saladas is typical for that user at that time of day. It should be understoodthat there are numerous other specific search criteria a user may wishto specify or different trends that could be monitored according to theinvention. The criteria and trends described above are for illustrativepurposes only and the invention is not intended to be limited to thesecriteria or trends.

In another embodiment of the invention, the consumer log 50 stores thetime of day when an item is consumed. The time may be storedautomatically when the tag is decoded and logged or it may be enteredmanually by the user. The consumer application 65 may preferably includea consumer indication module 830 enabling the user to input variousindications reflecting the user's health, wellness or overall subjectivefeelings or mood. For example, the user may input that he or she feelstired, bloated, or anxious, or that he or she is nauseas or has aheadache. These indications along with the time of day may be recordedin the consumer log 50. The trend monitor module 830 could be programmedto search consumer log for 50 for nutrition, allergen, or other factorssuch as time between meals that might have a correlation to one or moreof the user input indications. If a correlation is detected by theconsumer indication module 830 that is based on a dietary deficiency,the consumer indication module 830 could signal the search venue module810 to initiate a search for a registered venue that serves items thatwould fill the dietary deficiency identified by the consumer indicationmodule 830.

As discussed previously, a user, like a venue, may be requested toregister with the network service provider 910. The user, like thevenue, would also receive a unique user network ID associated with beinga user. FIG. 7B shows a user interface displaying some of theregistration data that may be requested and assigned to each new userregistrant. In one embodiment of the invention, a registered venue couldsearch for registered users using a Consumer Search Application 900shown in FIG. 9. When a user enters the venue and connects to thevenue's WiFi network, the WiFi network could request the user's networkID. The venue could then send that user messages either through thevenue's web portal or via the network service provider 910 (e.g., bytext message discussed above) about specials or other information thatvenue may consider of interest to the user. The Consumer SearchApplication 900 may also search for registered users through the networkservice provider 910, which could by way of example only, use a GPS orother location service to track registered users. The venue could useits Consumer Search Application 900 to set up messages to be sentdirectly to registered users that are in the venue's vicinity. When thenetwork service provider 910 identifies a registered user in thatvenue's specified vicinity, it can deliver messages about specials ornew menu items for illustration purposes only, to that registered user.

In one embodiment of the invention, the consumer log 50 is accessibleonly by the user irrespective of whether the consumer log is stored onthe user's device and/or remotely, i.e., on a cloud server. In anotherembodiment of the invention, the consumer log 50 and the network tagdatabase 25 are managed by the network service provider 910. In thisembodiment of the invention, the network service provider could providea venue, in a variety of ways, the items logged by users that the userpurchased from that venue. Data such as the user's network id, the itemconsumed, any modifications that were made to the portion size orsubstitutions, any profile preferences, and the date and time such itemwas purchased along with any other relevant information of interest thatis trackable could be provided to such venue. FIG. 9 shows avenue-specific customer log 920 representing the data associated witheach venue's specific customers that could be generated by the networkservice provider 910.

In another embodiment of the invention, a venue could search forregistered users that have also been customers of such venue. Thenetwork service provider 910 could provide information in thevenue-specific customer log 920 to the Consumer Search Application 900.The venue using the Consumer Search Application 900 could evaluate thecustomer's specific purchases or trends related to that venue and sendmessages to the customer as discussed above when the customer enters thevenue or is nearby. In addition to messages discussed above, the venuecould use more targeted messages such as providing discounts for itemsthat the customer previously purchased or propose that that the customercome in to purchase an item that, based on previous purchases, thecustomer may enjoy.

It should be understood, that the network service provider 910 mayprovide any trend information to any venue and enable the venue tomessage the user irrespective of whether or not the user is a customerand whether or not the message is based on a user trend, indication,specified criteria or some other criteria or preference.

In another embodiment of the invention, venues can utilize a networkservice provider 910 to evaluate the venue's customer purchases and makesuggestions about when to buy new supplies or when to have specials toencourage sales of perishable foods. According to this embodiment, thenetwork service provider 910 could evaluate all of the venue-specificcustomer logs 920 over a period of time that could be pre-programmed orspecified by the venue and tabulate items and sub-items purchased orconsumed during that applicable time period. The network serviceprovider 910 could identify those items or sub-items purchased the mostand send a message to the venue network application 930 to check to seeif it needs to order more of the item or sub-item. Conversely thenetwork service provider 910 could identify those items or sub-itemsthat were purchased the least over the applicable period of time andidentify any perishable items so identified and send a message to thevenue network application to sell the perishable items before they gobad. It should be understood that the data stored in the venue-specificuser logs 920 could be evaluated for a variety of different reasons, andconsequently different types of messages could be generated andtransmitted to the venue network application 930. For example, a messagealert stating: “No one has bought ham for 1 week. Run a special to sellit before it goes bad to avoid having to dispose of bad ham.” Or asanother example, sending a message stating: “Many customers aresubstituting brown rice for white rice, do you need to order more brownrice?” Other important information can be ascertained from theconsumption data, such as customers are not eating their pickles, so thevenue should only include pickles if requested. It should be understoodthat these examples are for illustrative purposes and not intended tolimit this feature of the invention.

In another embodiment of the invention, a registered venue could offer aloyalty program to its customers that are network registered users. Forexample, suppose a venue wants to offer a free dessert after thepurchase of 5 meals. The venue could use the tag generator application10 in FIG. 1 to input the details of the loyalty program and the networkservice provider 910 in FIG. 9 could, based on purchases made by usersand tracked in the venue-specific consumer database 920, implement theloyalty program.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary process for implementing a loyalty program.After the tag generator application has stored the relevant nutritionaland other information for an item in the network tag database (step 215in FIG. 2), the tag generator application will query the venue at 1000to indicate whether or not the item is subject to a loyalty program. Ifthe venue indicates that the item is not subject to a loyalty program,the tag generation application 10 enables the venue to create a tag(step 220 in FIG. 2). If the venue indicates at step 1000 that the itemis subject to a loyalty program, the tag generation application willpopulate a field associated with the item in the network tag database atstep 1010 indicating that the item is subject to a loyalty program. Thetag generation application then prompts the venue at step 1020 to enterthe details of the program. For example, the tag generation application25 could provide a list of different types of loyalty programs for thevenue to select from. In this example, the type of loyalty program couldbe described as “Free after number of purchases.” The venue would selectthat option at step 1025 according to this example. Continuing with thisexample, the venue could then be prompted to specify the number ofpurchases and any other item that may be included in the count. In thisexample, the venue could also be prompted to specify the items that maybe purchased for free once the count is achieved. The venue wouldrespond with 5 purchases, indicate the meals that should be counted, andthe desserts that can be selected as free at step 1025 in accordancewith this example.

In one embodiment of the invention, the information provided by thevenue at steps 1010 and 1025 is transmitted to the network serviceprovider at step 1030. The network service provider registers theloyalty program at step 1030 and creates a tag at step 220 with a fieldindicating that the item is associated with the loyalty program. At step1035, the network service provider initiates a counter associated withthe registered venue. When a registered user scans the tag for an itemat step 1040, and stores the information in the user's log (as describedabove), the network service provider could update a counter at step 1050for that registered user. The network service provider could store theupdated counter in the user log or the venue-specific customer databaseor both. The network service provider then checks the counter at step1060 against the limit set by the venue when inputting the details ofthe loyalty program at step 1040 and sends a message at 1070 to thevenue, customer or both if the limit has been reached. In this example,the message could say “This customer has earned a free dessert” or “Youare entitled to a free dessert.” It should be understood that themessage could be sent by text, pop-up message through the relevantapplications, or other suitable means. It should further be understoodthat the counter could be implemented within the venue's POS terminaland connected computing devices or within the consumer application foreach customer. This example is described for illustrative purposes onlyand is not intended to limit the invention to the example or theimplementation described.

Embodiments of the present invention enable a user to scan avenue-unique tag to identify only those items that satisfy the user'sprofile or other preferences. For example, if a user is allergic todairy products, the consumer application would identify those menu itemsavailable from the venue that are dairy-free. FIG. 11 shows anillustrative process for this embodiment. At 1100, the user using tagreader 90 scans a venue-unique tag. The venue unique tag may includeonly the unique venue network ID. It should be understood that otherfields may be included, for example, the venue's website, informationabout specials, new menu items, loyalty program information, etc. Thetag reader 90, according to this embodiment of the invention, decodesthe venue unique tag to identify the venue network ID at 1105. Theconsumer application 65 when connected with the network tag database 25uses the venue network ID to look up each item served by that venue atstep 1110. The consumer application compares each item to the user'sprofile preferences at step 1120. If an item matches the user's profilepreferences, e.g., dairy free, then it displays the item at step 1130.If the item is not a match at step 1120, the next item if there are moreas determined at step 1125 is looked up at 1110 and compared to theuser's profile preferences at 1120. It should be understood that thematching items may be displayed at step 1130 on the user's device orstored at step 1140 on the user's device or in connection with the userlog, or both.

The user may also use the downloaded items and sub-items to modify ascanned tag or logged entry as discussed above in connection with FIG. 4and FIGS. 5A through 5D. The user may use his or her consumerapplication 65 to download the menu items and sub-items as describedabove. Or alternatively, the consumer application 65 could search forvenues as described above (see search venue step 710 of FIG. 8). Oncethe venue unique network ID is obtained, the items and sub-items servedby that venue stored in the network tag database 25 may be downloaded tothe user's device. It should be understood that there are a variety ofways to implement a loyalty program with regard to registered venuesand/or registered users, which may include, for example, storing thedata locally at the venue so that the venue can direct that data toregistered users, or users could download the venue information at anytime from a list of registered venues.

Nutritional Tag

A presently preferred implementation of the nutritional tag 100 isdescribed in detail in U.S. application Ser. No. 14/766,866. Moreover,the invention may be implemented using other coding structures, such asQR codes as discussed below and in U.S. Provisional Application No.62/293,230 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/334,078.

A nutritional tag 100 is shown in FIG. 11A. A plurality of rows 101 andcolumns 102 form a number of cells 110. The rows or columns form fieldsassociated with a nutritional characteristic such as calories, fat,carbohydrates, vitamins or minerals. It should be understood that suchfields may be representative of other ingestible substances such asallergens, drugs, chemicals and other ingredients that may be found iningestible substances. The term nutritional characteristic is intendedto include any such ingestible substances. Although the fields of tag100 may be arranged by rows or columns, for purposes of simplifieddescription, the fields may be described herein as arranged by rowsonly. The nutritional characteristics associated with each field will beordered in accordance with a predetermined scheme. For illustrativepurposes only, a standard could be developed to specify multipleprofiles. In accordance with this example only, a first profile couldspecify the following:

TABLE 1 Row 101 Number Nutritional Field Unit of Measurement 1 CaloriesCalories 2 Calories From Fat Calories 3 Total Fat Grams 4 Saturated FatGrams 5 Trans Fat Grams 6 Cholesterol Milligrams 7 Sodium Milligrams 8Total Carbohydrates Grams 9 Dietary Fiber Grams 10 Sugars Grams 11Protein Grams

In this example, the tag 100 would comprise 11 rows 101 and each rowwould be coded in accordance with the value associated with a food,beverage or other ingestible substance. In a preferred embodiment thecoding is represented in Binary Coded Decimal. However, those skilled inthe art will recognize that other coding schemes are also suitable, suchas binary, or 2D matrix bar codes such as Aztec and the like. Theprofile would also have a predetermined serving size associated with thenutritional information. The serving size could be a specific measure oramount such as 1 tablespoon, ½ cup, or 6 ounces. Alternatively, theserving size could be equivalent to a single serving as sold forprepared, packaged, or ordered products. It should be understood thatthat the serving size may also be encoded into the tag rather thanassociated in a predetermined manner with a particular profile. Forillustrative purposes only, a serving of Ricotta cheese could bespecified as ¼ of a cup and have the following values associated withthe profile specified in Table 1 above.

TABLE 2 Row 101 Number Nutritional Field Unit of Measurement Value 1Calories Calories 90 2 Calories From Fat Calories 50 3 Total Fat Grams 64 Saturated Fat Grams 3.5 5 Trans Fat Grams 0 6 Cholesterol Milligrams30 7 Sodium Milligrams 85 8 Total Carbohydrates Grams 4 9 Dietary FiberGrams 0 10 Sugars Grams 3 11 Protein Grams 6

The tag 100 for the above example of Ricotta cheese using BCD coding isshown in FIG. 11B. In the same example, the first 4 columns 202represent the 10 s digit of the value, the second 4 columns 204represent the 1 s digit of the value and the third 4 columns 206represent the first decimal of the value. The number of 4-columnsections 202, 204 and 206 should also be predetermined for each profileand may vary based on the values expected to be coded, i.e., whether ornot decimal places are represented and/or whether a 100 s or greaterdigits should be represented.

In a second profile according to the present example, the nutritionalinformation may be extended as specified in Table 3 below.

TABLE 3 Row 101 Number Nutritional Field Unit of Measurement 1 CaloriesCalories 2 Calories From Fat Calories 3 Total Fat Grams 4 Saturated FatGrams 5 Trans Fat Grams 6 Cholesterol Milligrams 7 Sodium Milligrams 8Total Carbohydrates Grams 9 Dietary Fiber Grams 10 Sugars Grams 11Protein Grams 12 Vitamin A Percent of a 2,000 calorie diet 13 CalciumPercent of a 2,000 calorie diet 14 Vitamin C Percent of a 2,000 caloriediet 15 Iron Percent of a 2,000 calorie diet

For a serving of ricotta cheese, the values associated with the extendedprofile are listed in Table 4.

TABLE 4 Row 101 Number Nutritional Field Unit of Measurement Value 1Calories Calories 90 2 Calories From Fat Calories 50 3 Total Fat Grams 64 Saturated Fat Grams 3.5 5 Trans Fat Grams 0 6 Cholesterol Milligrams30 7 Sodium Milligrams 85 8 Total Carbohydrates Grams 4 9 Dietary FiberGrams 0 10 Sugars Grams 3 11 Protein Grams 6 12 Vitamin A Percent of a2,000 calorie diet 4 13 Calcium Percent of a 2,000 calorie diet 10 14Vitamin C Percent of a 2,000 calorie diet 0 15 Iron Percent of a 2,000calorie diet 0

The tag 100 coded according to the extended profile for a serving ofricotta cheese is shown in FIG. 11C. Differentiation among profiles maybe implemented in a variety of ways. One way would be to include aheader in the same coding format that would specify the profile. Forexample, suppose the profile shown in Table 1 above is identified asProfile 1 and the profile shown in Table 3 above is identified asProfile 2. In the example where BCD coding is used, the servings ofricotta cheese with the values represented in Tables 2 and 4,respectively, would be shown in corresponding FIGS. 11D and 11E. Notethat the first rows 401 in FIGS. 11D and 11E represent the headerencoded with the applicable profile number. FIG. 11F shows the exemplarytag in FIG. 11C with additional rows 402 representative of thepredetermined profile.

In an alternative embodiment, the profile identifier may be representedby visual or coded effects associated with the tag in a predeterminedmanner. For example, FIGS. 11G and 11H show Profiles 1 and 2corresponding to a serving of ricotta cheese, respectively as describedabove using an exemplary visual effect. The small triangles 501interspersed equidistantly across the top of the tag 100 in FIG. 11G isa possible predetermined way to identify Profile 1 and the smalldiamonds 502 interspersed equidistantly across the top of tag 100 inFIG. 11H is a possible predetermined way to identify Profile 2. Itshould be understood that many other effects are possible including butnot limited to different designs, shapes, coloring of the cells, borderdesigns and the like.

It should also be understood that some profiles may take advantage ofboth a header and a visual or coded effect to identify the profilerepresented. For example, a standard for all nutritional informationcould be created where the nutritional information would be listed in apredetermined order corresponding to a row number in a given tag. Increating the tag, only those rows to be tracked are included in the tag.The header for such tag would include a list of the row numberscorresponding to the nutritional information included in the tag. Forinstance, if an individual was interested in tracking only his niacin,calcium and Vitamin D intake, and the rows corresponding to niacin,calcium and Vitamin D are 7, 12 and 16 out of a possible 56 totalpredetermined rows, then the header could be represented as 56 cellswith the 7th, 12th and 16^(th) cell marked. A profile could be definedfor this type of tagging, i.e., a subset of the universal list andidentified by a visual effect. FIG. 11H shows an example of a tag 100according to the foregoing description of a blended header and visualeffect to identify the profile and information included in the tag wherethe header 403 specifies that niacin 410, calcium 412 and Vitamin D 414are included and visual effect 503 specifies the blended profile.

Many profile variations are also contemplated by the present inventionsuch as drug directives, allergens, artificial substances and the like.For example, a profile could also be created that specifies allergens orother substances to be avoided that are present in a particularingestible substance. FIG. 11I shows an exemplary tag having an allergenprofile, and FIG. 11J shows an exemplary tag having a drug directiveprofile.

Table 5 shows an exemplary predetermined scheme for allergens and othersubstances that may be found in ingestible products that individuals maychoose to avoid.

TABLE 5 Row 101 number Allergen 1 Gluten 2 Nuts 3 Dairy 4 Eggs 5Aspartame . . . . . . N Caffeine

The predetermined scheme may include N substances although very fewingestible substances would likely contain more than a fraction of suchsubstances. Therefore, the tag associated with such a profile mightinclude only the row numbers for those allergens or other substancesthat are present in a particular food. For example, a serving ofchocolate cake may include gluten, dairy, eggs and caffeine. Assume forthe purposes of this example that N=25. FIG. 11J shows a possible tagcoded in BCD format for such a profile using the predetermined scheme inTable 5 for this serving of cake where the rows 510, 520, 530 and 540represent the applicable row numbers in Table 5. Those skilled in theart will appreciate other methods of encoding such information arepossible including the profiling and headers described above.

In the case of drug directives, a profile could be created for each drugwith the relevant directives such as avoiding dairy or alcohol. Table 6is an exemplary profile associated with drug directives.

TABLE 6 Row 101 number Drug Directives 1 Avoid Dairy 2 Avoid ExcessiveSunlight 3 Avoid operating heavy machinery such as driving a vehicle 4Take with plenty of water 5 Take with food . . . . . . N Avoid alcohol

FIG. 11K shows an exemplary tag according to the profile shown in Table6 for a hypothetical drug which should be taken with plenty of water andwhere the patient should avoid excessive sunlight. Using the same codingscheme as described above for the allergen profile, only the row numbers2 and 4 would need to be represented in connection with thishypothetical drug. Assuming for this example that N=18 and BCD coding isused, FIG. 11K shows an exemplary tag for this drug directive profilefor the same hypothetical drug. Row 550 represents the directiveassociated with avoiding excessive sunlight and row 560 represents thedirective associated with taking the drug with plenty of water.

As noted above, the inventive system may be implemented using QR codesfor the tags. As envisioned, the system would be configured to importthe specific information for any food and encode the nutritional andallergen information into scannable tags. The scannable tags can beprinted on menus, receipts, and signs, or even transmitted or displayedelectronically. Users can then scan the tags using the inventive mobileapp described below. Unlike the trackers and tools available today, theinventive system allows the user to select any of the ingredients andchange its portion size, substitute it for something else and add otheritems that are available from the venue. Once those changes are made,the user needs but a single click to automatically populate the trackerwith the relevant food data.

The tag itself is quite versatile and may be used in a variety ofadditional ways. For example, users could share tags with guests at adinner party. Or the encoded information could be expanded to includeother information, such as GMOs, artificial ingredients, or other dataof interest. Data can be exported after it is scanned and logged to adifferent tracker. The encoded data can be used to provide users withpersonalized alerts, notices, and suggestions based on their personaltargets and profile. Venues can use encoded fields to supportpromotions, loyalty programs and other marketing to the network ofusers. The tags can also be customized in a way that includes uniqueinformation types, such as “certified organic” or “IBUs” for beer.

There are dozens of recipe sites with thousands of recipes each. Someprovide nutritional information that could be manually entered into atracker but many do not. Most cooks, however, make modifications to theingredients and amounts when preparing the actual recipe. As a resultmany recipes are followed by reviews with suggested changes. Theinventive system could partner with a recipe site where the recipeingredient lists are exported to the system. The system could thenproduce a tag and export it to the recipe site to include with a recipe.Cooks could scan the tag or click on a link to the system to makechanges to the ingredients list to calculate the nutritional info basedon those changes. If that cook left a review, the revised tag could beaffixed to the review so that cooks making the same changes could simplyscan the tag.

Most venues use a food service solution to maintain their inventory,point of sale, and recipe costing systems. Using these systems, venuesknow what they sell and how much of a margin they have per item sold butthey cannot optimize if they don't know how much food their customersare actually consuming. The inventive system could import the recipeingredient lists and generate tags for the venue. When the tags arescanned by the venues customers, the system could provide consumptionreports, e.g., 80% of your customers don't eat the roll you include withtheir order, that would enable venues to optimize their margins.

The system could also import all of the items available at each stationin a cafeteria and create a single tag. When the tag is scanned thecustomer can see the list of everything that is available and make hisor her selections and portion size adjustments and then with a singleclick log the relevant nutrition info. Consumption data reports would beof use to the cafeteria as a means to avoid waste, e.g., determine whatpeople are actually consuming to minimize waste.

II. Base Product, FIGS. 12-17R

Aspects of a base product are described in U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/293,230, Feb. 9, 2016; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/293,709, Feb. 10, 2016; and U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/334,078, May 10, 2016. Important aspects of thetechnology-based solutions described relate to the areas of informationcoding, user interfaces, data compression, and extensibility. Theinventive solutions involve new, efficient ways of encoding informationon both physical encoded tags/packaging as well as on digital storagemedia. The inventive system for producing electronically readabledietary tags solves the technical problem of optimally selecting,arranging, and displaying the nutritional information in the form of anencoded tag that can be physically associated with food items and alsoelectronically read using optical imaging technology (such as a cameraor bar code or QR code reader). The novel tag design improves theoperational efficiency and effectiveness of the overall system itself,and it solves the technical problem of attaching the relevantnutritional information to the dietary products and transferring thatinformation to users that purchase or consume the dietary products.Moreover, the coded information may be based on standardized orpredetermined profiles so that the information actually encoded can bereduced and so that the codes can be designed with flexibility in mind.For example, one standardized profile could include just the essentialnutritional information and allergens that are required by labeling lawson certain processed products (“Core Profile”). Another profile couldinclude all the Core Profile information plus any artificial ingredientsand/or GMOs. Other profiles could be adapted to include variousvitamins, minerals or other substances of interest for certain diets orfor certain health-related conditions. The size of the printed code willbe important to ensure that it is large enough to be accurately scannedbut not so large that it needs to take up too much real estate on themenus, receipts, packaging etc. Flexibility is also important not onlyfor users who may be interested in different kinds of information butfor venues and producers who may not be willing to adopt a system ifcertain information either must be included or excluded from the tags.

As discussed in the Background section above, several food trackers arenow available enabling users to log dietary information relating to thefoods/beverages consumed by such users. These food trackers areimplemented as mobile apps with corresponding websites, e.g.,MyFitnessPal, that enable users to access other dietary resources andinformation. The mobile apps provide a variety of tools, e.g. databases,barcode readers, etc., permitting users to obtain the dietaryinformation they want to track. Only a small percentage of food asprepared for consumption, however, has been barcoded and the barcodesonly identify the food product; a separate database needs to be createdto store the nutritional info associated with the product. Databaseshave been created so that users can input each ingredient to computecumulative dietary information such as the number of calories per mealbut this look-up process is very time consuming and often inaccurate asthe ingredients are not known to the user.

The present solution solves this problem by encoding each menu item'sand sub-item's nutritional information into a tag that can be scanneddirectly by a user using a mobile app food tracker and logging the codedinformation into the user's daily food log. The user will be easily ableto modify the portion size of each sub-item that is served with the itemordered, delete sub-items, add extras or make substitutions that can beordered from the venue.

U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/293,709 includes descriptionsof the following aspects of the inventive system.

Mobile application wireframes, depicted in FIGS. 16A-16Q.

Web application wireframes, depicted in FIGS. 17A-17R. The Webwireframes show an example of the UI where the user would add a name forthe new Food, each ingredient, the amount for each ingredient and themeasurement units associated with the amount.

Architecture Document

It should be noted, however, that unless specifically so limited, thescope of protection of the claims of the present application is by nomeans intended to be limited to the specific features depicted in thewireframe diagrams.

A. User Scenarios

Some user scenarios supported in the exemplary base product include:

1. Scan and log user dietary information—Using the mobile app, the userscans a tag associated with a food or beverage the user has consumed orplans to consume. The scanned tag is decoded to display the nutritionaland other related information on the user's mobile device. The user maymodify the portion size or make substitutions (e.g., side salad insteadof potatoes) where applicable to reflect what the user has/will actuallyconsume. The user may save the decoded data, in modified or unmodifiedform, to the user's consumption log. If the food is not tagged, the usermay scan a barcode if available or search for the food from the database(including food served at large chain venues) to identify the relevantnutritional and allergen information.

2. Personal profile matching—When the user registers with the system,the user will identify any dietary preferences (e.g., vegan, vegetarian,diabetic, etc.) or allergies (e.g., dairy, peanuts, etc.). When the userscans a tag with his/her mobile device, the user will be notified if thescanned item is believed to contain any allergens that are identified inhis/her profile and whether the item is believed to match a dietarypreference.

3. Food Item Creation—Both individual users and venues may enter fooditems. There are several options for entry. Each ingredient in aprepared food may be individually entered to create a “Food” to beserved. The ingredients may be looked-up by searching the database or bythe barcode UPC associated with the ingredient. Ingredients may also beimported from certain recipe websites. Users will be provided withelectronic scrapbooks that will enable them to copy recipes from notes,pictures, emails, etc. that can later be transcribed into the ingrediententry feature. As ingredients are added, their corresponding nutritionalinformation is acquired through public sources or entered by the user.Allergen information is identified corresponding to the ingredient. Theuser may identify any dietary preferences associated with the food item.Venues will additionally be able to group sub-items (e.g., meat,potatoes, and vegetables) together in a manner in which they are servedat the venue and identify appropriate substitutions (e.g., rice or sidesalad) or options (e.g. with your turkey sandwich you can have lettuce,tomato, onion, mustard, mayo, pickles, etc.). Users may also search forexisting database foods, modify some or all of the ingredients, portionsizes, etc. to create a new food. Venues' ingredient entries may beprivate and venues optionally can omit ingredient entries and only enterthe recipe name and corresponding nutritional and allergen info.

4. Creating and printing tags—Using the web application, users maysearch for or otherwise identify Foods/Items they wish to tag. Onceidentified, the user can initiate the encoding process to create a tagfor the identified food(s). The user may compile a number of tags alongwith the Food or Item name in a single print file so that venues mayinclude inserts with their menus or provide signage with the tags withinthe venue, or other users can make them available to guests at a dinnerparty or pot luck, for example. The tags may also be stored and viewedin electronic form from both web and mobile apps and emailedelectronically to others (web app) or shared with others (mobile app).

5. Consumption log review—Using the web or mobile app, users may viewtheir own consumption logs, filtering the log by date, date range, orother criteria. Users may also search for certain logged foods andmodify the portion size, make a substitution, delete the entry, or enterit again for a new date/time. Venues will also be able to review thevenue's food items that have been logged by the venue's own customersalthough the customers' identities/personal info may not be revealed.

6. Administrative—A system administrator may enter recipes/ingredientinformation on behalf of registered venues and generate usage reportsrelating to, among other things, tags generated and scanned, recipescreated and scanned, and feedback received from users.

B. Food/Item Creation

There are several options for users to create foods for recipes theyprepare and for Venues to create Item and Sub-Items that reflect theirmenus.

1. Users Preparing their Own Foods

The user may enter new Foods in a number of ways in the web application.

Import ingredients from recipes posted on supported websites. The usercan either enter the URL for the online recipe from the web app or whenthe user is viewing the recipe for the ingredients the user wants toimport, the user can just click on a designated button from the user'snavigation or favorites bar. In either case, as long as the recipe siteis supported (i.e., it has a public API or uses a standard metadatascheme), the ingredients will be automatically imported along with thename of the recipe (and corresponding amounts) into the database. If theimported ingredients are found in the database, the nutritionalinformation will automatically be populated as well for relevant amountsand measurement units. If an imported ingredient is not found in thedatabase, the user will be required to enter the nutritional information(described in subpart iii below). Allergens are identified and are notinput by a user. The list of ingredients, amounts, measurement units,and nutritional and allergen info will be displayed following the importand any entry required and the user will save or clear the entry. Theuser will be prompted to enter a dietary preference associated with thenew Food but the user is not required to enter the dietary preferenceand may save the new Food without doing so. After saving, all of theinformation is logged into the database as a new Food for that user.

Batch import ingredients from recipes posted on supported websites.Users can list up to 10 URLs for recipes and the ingredients from eachof those recipes along with the ingredient amounts and recipe names willbe imported to the database. The same process described above will beimplemented for each of the imported recipes. The database will logthese new Foods in association with the user that imported them.

Manual entry of ingredients. The user may enter ingredients from his/herown recipe. The Web wireframes show an example of the UI where the userwould add a name for the new Food, each ingredient, the amount for eachingredient and the measurement units associated with the amount (SeeEnter a Food Page). As the user types in the ingredient, the web appwill search the database and begin to list relevant matches. If the userfinds a match for the intended ingredient, that match will be selectedby the user and will populate the ingredient field. The amount andmeasurement units will be populated as well. The nutritional info forthat ingredient will be displayed for the ingredient as well as anyallergens or applicable dietary preferences. The user may change theamounts and measurement units. It should be understood that a variety ofmethods may be implemented to convert units such as a conversion tableor lookups for ingredients having the desired unit match. Those changeswill automatically adjust the nutrition information displayed tocorrespond to the new amounts and units. If the ingredient is not foundin the database, the user will enter all applicable information:ingredient name, amount, measurement units, nutrition information,relevant serving size and number of servings for the nutritional valuesentered, and optionally any dietary preferences. If an ingredient has abarcode, the user may optionally enter in the UPC code and theingredient name, amount, nutritional info, etc. will be displayed in theUI. Allergens are identified and are not input by a user. As eachingredient is entered the nutritional information is updated to reflectthe cumulative nutritional information for all ingredients. The user cancontinue to add ingredients in this fashion until all of the ingredientsfor the recipe have been entered. If the user does not complete theinput, s/he can save it to his/her Scrapbook and can come back to thesame point at a later time. If the user completes the entry, the usersaves the Food as a new Food and the ingredients, amounts, measurementunits, nutritional info, serving size, number of servings, allergens anddietary references are saved to the database in association with theuser that entered the Food. The user will be prompted to enter a dietarypreference associated with the new Food but the user is not required toenter the dietary preference and may save the new Food without doing so.Other users should be permitted a way to add dietary preferences inassociation with any Product in the database.

Edit and Enter an existing food. The user may search for a Food that hasalready been entered into the database. The user may use the “Find aProduct Page” to search for a specific Food or may search his/herConsumption Log to find a Food that he or she already logged. When theFood is found, the user may select “edit” which will bring up the “Entera Food Page” already populated with the existing Food information. Theuser may add, delete, or modify ingredients and resave the Food as a newFood associated with the user that made the edits. The same process asdescribed in subpart iii is applicable here.

Enter using the User's Scrapbook. Each user will have a Scrapbook. Usingthe web app, the user may open his or her scrapbook when enteringingredients for a new Food so that information saved to the user'sScrapbook can be easily transcribed into the relevant fields on theEnter a Food Page as described in subpart iii. If a URL or multiple URLsare in the Scrapbook, they can be copied and imported as described insubparts i or ii above. As described with each of the entry methodsabove, the user may save the new Food once all of the information hasbeen populated along with optional dietary preferences.

The user may save recipe info to his or her scrapbook from his or hermobile device but the user will not be able to enter new Foods via themobile app. If the user is using a laptop or tablet, the user may usethe web app as described above to enter a new Food. The user could alsouse the web app on his or her mobile phone but the user interface shouldnot be optimized for these smaller form factors in the base product.

2. Entering Items and Sub-Items Served at a Venue

The venue entry is a superset of the user entry. In order for users tobe able to make substitutions, delete sub-items, add extras etc. afterscanning a tag, the venue must have its menu items along with allapplicable sub-items stored in the database and all applicablesubstitutable sub-items or add-ons and any extras that may be availablefrom that venue stored in the database. (In this context, “add-on”refers to a category of sub-items that are not substitutes but arethings that customers can add to their order; “category” refers to thename of a group of sub-items that can be substituted for one anotherwhen ordering an item; “extras” refer to products that are availablefrom a venue but are not listed on the menu; and “substitutes” aresub-items that can be substituted within an item for the defaultsub-item that is specified on the venue's menu.) The Sample My MenuPages, Sample Create My Menu Page, and Sample Create My Menu Pageincluded in the Web wireframes should be reviewed along with thisdescription.

Entering Categories. Each venue may have different categories that makesense for the items it serves. The samples shown in the web wireframesare for a pizza restaurant. The customer can order a specific pizza thatcomes with a sauce, a cheese, a veggie and a meat or some combination ofthose. In that case, it might make sense to have 4 categories as shownin the samples. Alternatively there could be a single category ofadd-ons that include some or all the sauces, cheeses, veggies and meats.For example, there could be categories “sauces” and “cheeses” butadd-ons that include all possible veggies and meats. It is up to thevenue as to what categories to create and what sub-items or add-ons toinclude. In either case, it would be expected that the customer wouldorder one of the specific pizza combinations and then might want to makea substitution and/or add-on a particular topping. By associating eachmenu item with appropriate substitutions and add-ons the customer willeasily be able to log what he or she actually orders. There may also bea mechanism to input extras that the venue provides such that the usercan easily search for and add these if consumed to the user'sConsumption Log.

Entering Menu Items. Since a menu item is simply the name that the venueincludes on its menu to define something to order, the nutritioninformation, allergens and dietary preferences are determined by thespecific sub-items associated or grouped together to form an Item. Inthe pizza example, in addition to the sauces, cheese, etc., there wouldalso be the pizza crust. Some venues might have multiple types of crustin which case a Category would need to be created but if there is onlyone type of crust, crust would always be included as a default sub-itemwith any Item. As another example, consider a venue that prepares adaily quiche. The quiche (the “Item”) has 2 sub-items, the filling andthe crust. Assuming the daily quiche is homemade both the filling andthe crust would be associated with a specific recipe for which theingredients, amounts, measurement units, etc. would be added asdescripted in Part 1 subpart iii above.

3. My Menu or My Foods

A user should be able to access the Foods he or she has entered andsaved by clicking on My Foods from both the mobile and the web app.Similarly a venue should be able to click on My Menu from the web andmobile app and bring up its Menu Items, sub-items, Categories, add-onsand Extras.

C. Scanning and Logging

Scanning takes place solely from the mobile app but there are severalother options for logging products into a user's consumption log. Thedatabase stores ingredients from the USDA database and other availablenutrition databases including groceries (bar-coded products) and foodsavailable from certain large-chain restaurants. In addition, thedatabase stores the user entered foods as well as the venue enteredinformation. A product is anything in the database that has nutritionalinformation associated with it. In other words, a product includes everyfood, menu Item, sub-item, add-on, extra, grocery, and chain restaurantfood. In addition to scanning, a user can search for a product in thedatabase and log the product or the user can search his or her foods orconsumption log to find a food or previously consumed meal to log. Theuser may also scan a bar code on a grocery to include the grocery in theuser's consumption log.

Scanning a Tag and Logging a Venue Item

The mobile app Home page includes the “Scan a Tag” function whichlaunches the QR code scanner. The user uses the scanner to scan a Taggenerated for a Venue Item. The mobile app decodes a Tag. The decodednutrition information is displayed as shown in the mobile wireframes forthe entire Item. Each sub-item is shown for the Item Tag scanned alongwith options to modify the portion size, substitute another Sub-Item, ordelete the Sub-Item. There should also be options to include an Add-Onif there are Add-Ons and Extras (not shown). If the user chooses tomodify the portion size, the Sub-Item alone will be shown with a portionsize UI feature. The user adjusts the portion size to reflect what s/hehas or will consume. The nutritional information for that Item will thenupdate to reflect that the Sub-Item portion size was adjusted. The usercan also choose the substitute option which will bring up the defaultSub-Item and a list of sub-items that can replace the default sub-item.The user may select one of the listed sub-items which will then replacethe default sub-item in the menu Item and the mobile app with update thenutrition app after the substitution is made. If there are Add-Ons orExtras, the user can click on those options in connection with an Item(not Sub-Item) and again a list would be presented to which the user canselect the ones he or she has or will consume with the Item. Once theuser has made all appropriate changes and additions, he or she may savethe Item to his or her Consumption Log. In doing so, the time, date,Venue, Menu Item, Sub-Items with portion sizes, add-ons, if any, withportion sizes, Extras, if any, with portion sizes, along with thecumulative nutrition information will be save in the database inassociation with the user's Consumption Log.

It should be understood that categories and extras may be used byindividual cooks as well as venues for creating meals according to thepresent invention. FIGS. 18A-C show additional user interface examplesfor inputting a new ingredient as an extra and creating a meal bygrouping together ingredients and recipes. In the user interface shown,ingredients such as brown bread and the Arnie Omelet are groupedtogether by dragging and dropping them into a new meal. When the a tagfor that meal is scanned, the user can select brown bread and substitutewhite bread or select extras and select butter as shown in FIG. 18C.

Scanning a Barcode and Logging a Grocery Product

The mobile app Home Page also includes the “Scan a Barcode” functionwhich brings up the barcode scanner. The user uses the scanner to scan abarcode on a Grocery. The barcode is decoded to identify the UPC and theUPC is looked up in the database to bring up the nutritional informationfor the Grocery. The mobile app UI displays the name of the Grocery, theserving size and nutritional information along with an option to changethe portion size. The portion size and nutrition update process isdescribed above. If the user saves the Grocery to his or her ConsumptionLog, the time, date, Grocery name, UPC, amount, and nutritional infowill be saved to the database for that user's Consumption Log.

Logging an Existing Product or Food

The user can search for products or foods in a number of ways. Uponidentifying an ingredient, grocery, venue item or chain restaurant itemin the database, the user can change the portion size and log theapplicable product into the user's consumption log creating a new entryfor that user along with the date, time, and name of the product. If theproduct is a venue item, the user will also be able to makesubstitutions, additions, and deletions. If the user searches for a foodthat has been entered by the user or any user, the user can elect toedit the food as described above. The food in modified or unmodifiedform may be logged by the user to his or her consumption log, creating anew entry with the date, time, and name of the unmodified food or newfood, along with the applicable nutrition info.

Importing a Recipe

This section describes ways to implement the feature “Import recipe fromexisting website/API”.

Several ways of importing imply creating a “list of supported websites”.This means, that only recipes from sites in this list get importeddirectly to the app. It is possible to import recipes from unsupportedwebsites to the app's Scrapbook. This can be done using a browserextension, an embedded browser view, a website API, a mobile device“share” feature, or email.

Architecture

FIG. 13 depicts an illustrative, basic architecture including a databaseserver, app server, and user level including a mobile app user and a webapp user.

Module Description Database Server A computer or virtual machine (VM)dedicated to host MS SQL database. App Server A computer or VM thathosts web resources and REST API. Web App User Users that access appfrom web browser. Mobile App User Users that run mobile app.

Each module is described in detail below.

Database Structure

The database contains the following information:

-   -   User profiles. Table contains information about each user in        system, such as first and last name, unique user ID, email,        password, allergies, dietary preferences etc.    -   Consumption log. Table contains detailed information about user        dish consumption.    -   Nutrition values. Table contains nutrition values for each food        in database, such as Calories, Total Fat, Sodium, Protein, etc.    -   Recipes. Table store food components grouped into recipes. For        example—Burger: beef, red onions, extra-virgin olive oil,        mayonnaise, salt, etc.    -   Allergy information—Table contain information about        compatibility between foods and allergens, to produce allergy        warnings.

App Server Components

Presentation layer:

-   -   ASP.NET MVC—responsible for providing HTML, CSS, JS resources        for web clients.    -   ASP.NET Web API—REST API framework.    -   Data-access layer, ORM: Entity Framework 6—provides object        mapping to database entities.    -   Business logic layer—classes that implement all        application-specific logic.

Web Application Components

The web application uses an established web development framework as abase and follows the framework development guidelines and bestpractices. Example frameworks include Angular JS with additional pluginsand directives, and Twitter Bootstrap 3. It should be understood thatnumerous other technical architectures may be used to implement theinventive system such as the architecture illustrated in FIG. 13.

Mobile Application Components

The mobile application can be based on PhoneGap (also called ApacheCordova) or Xamarin to simplify cross-platform development. The samedevelopment framework used in the web application is preferably used tosimplify development and reuse components where possible. The mainfeatures of the mobile app are:

Uses QR scanner PhoneGap plugin

For best performance, different plugins can be used for iOS and Android

Split into components according to framework

Accesses REST API for data.

Additional Material

QR Code Structure

The QR Code stores basic recipe nutrition information, allergy anddietary compliance data and recipe ID. To form a QR Code, these numbersare encoded as bytes and concatenated to a fixed-length number. Itincorporates both Venue and Users.

The basic tag encoding may be implemented substantially in accordancewith the following format and conversion to a QR code. A 2-byte valueprovides a maximum of 65535 different entries.

Field Size Cook or venue no 2 bytes Recipe no 2 bytes Recipe Name Xbytes Portion Size Y Bytes Calories 2 bytes Total Fat 2 bytesCholesterol 2 bytes Sodium 2 bytes Total Carbohydrate 2 bytes Protein 2bytes Allergens (encoded as yes/no bit fields): 1 byte Milk, Eggs, Fish,crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybean DietaryPreferences (encoded as yes/no bit 2 bytes to cover 11 fields): Vegan,Vegetarian, Kosher . . . Total 19 + X Y bytes

A QR-code with 32 binary encoded bytes:

cook:˜$ xxd 8 bytes

0000000: 0123 4567 89ab cdef 0123 4567 89ab cdef .#Eg . . . #Eg . . . .

cook:˜$ cat 8 bytes|qrencode -1 L -8 -o 8 bytes.png

The QR Code according to this format should not need to exceed about 0.5inches when printed based on capability of user devices scanning/imagingtechnology. It should be understood that further compression may beachieved by predefining other features of the fields or by eliminatingcertain fields. It should be further understood that different encodingschemes will have better compression characteristics and may be usedinstead of QR encoding.

Service-Oriented Architecture

For enhanced scalability and extensibility, the service-orientedarchitecture (SOA) may be used. The high level overview of main servicesis depicted in FIG. 14.

As described above and shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the inventive systemincludes at least one nutrition database that is interfaced to theapplication server. For illustrative purposes only such nutritiondatabases may be third party databases such as one made available byNutritionix or the USDA database. The Nutritionix API information can befound at http://www.nutritionix.com/business/apt. The following liststhe relevant links for the USDA data, API, and allergen lists.

Raw Ingredients

-   -   USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference    -   http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=80-40-05-25    -   Documentation and User Guide    -   http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/80400525/Data/SR27/sr27_doc.pdf    -   info on the API    -   http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/doc/index

Allergens

-   -   Eggs: http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/page/egg-allergy.aspx    -   Fish: http://www.foodallergy.org/allergens/fish-allergy    -   Seafood: http://www.foodallergy.org/allergens/shellfish-allergy    -   Diary:        http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/page/milk-allergy.aspx    -   Peanuts:        http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/page/peanut-allergy.aspx    -   Tree nuts:        http://www.kidsswithfoodallergies.org/page/tree-nut-allergy.aspx,    -   Soy: http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/page/soy-allergy.aspx    -   Wheat/Gluten:        http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/page/wheat-allergy.aspx

The service-oriented architecture provides an ability to addressapplication scalability and reliability needs. As each applicationfeature is backed by a simple service, it can be easily scaled, withoutaffecting other components. Moreover, as the services are looselycoupled (access only over HTTP Rest API), each service can beincluded/excluded from the system according to specific needs. Moreover,the SOA-based approach naturally blends with cloud-based solutiondeployment, which ensures even faster and simpler responses to increasedload and hardware malfunctioning.

User Interface Designs for Mobile and Web Applications

As mentioned above, FIGS. 16A-Q depict illustrative mobile app wireframediagrams and FIGS. 17A-R depict illustrative web application wireframediagrams. These are generally referenced above in the sectionsdescribing example objectives for a base product. Unless the claims arespecifically so limited, the claims of the present application are by nomeans intended to be limited to the specific features depicted in thewireframe diagrams.

III. PDA/Smartphone-Based Tag Reading System, FIG. 18

FIG. 19 depicts a presently preferred embodiment of a system inaccordance with the present invention. As shown, the inventive systemincludes a nutrition information system 600 and a PDA orsmartphone-based tag reading system 900. The two systems 600 and 900 areconfigured to communication via a wide area network 1000. A networkservice provider 1100 and one or more venue(s) 1200 may also communicatewith the system via the wide area network 1000.

In addition, in the illustrative embodiment, a first network serviceprovider monitor 1100.1 is configured to enable a network serviceprovider 1100 to monitor user logs and provide alerts and suggestionsregarding general dietary trends. In addition, a second network serviceprovider monitor 1100.2 is configured to enable a network serviceprovider to evaluate a venue's customer purchases and providesuggestions about when the venue should buy new supplies or to havespecials to encourage sales of perishable foods. It be noted that thenetwork service provider(s) is (are) not limited to people, as theycould be completely automated.

In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 19, the nutrition informationsystem 600 includes a database 620 storing dietary product descriptionsand associated nutritional information, and a computer 610 coupled tothe database and configured to generate a nutritional tag 100. The tag100 is configured to represent a subset of the dietary productdescriptions and associated nutritional information based upon apredetermined profile. The nutritional tag preferably includes at leasta header or visual effects indicative of the predetermined profile.

In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 19, the nutrition informationsystem 600 also includes a venue messaging module 680 to enable a venueto access a user's log of tracked items and to send a message to theuser when tracked items are on special and when a new item added to thevenue's menu is determined, based on user's log, to be of possibleinterest to user.

The mobile tag reading system 900 of FIG. 19 includes a tag capturedevice 902 for reading the nutritional tag, and a decoder 904 fordecoding the header or visual effects included in the nutritional tag toidentify the predetermined profile. The tag capture device may be anoptical device but it is not limited to optical devices. The decoder 904is also configured to decode the nutritional tag to generate the subsetof the dietary product descriptions and associated nutritional valuesbased upon the predetermined profile. In addition, a tracking logmodification module 920 is included in the tag reading system to enablea user to modify the dietary product descriptions and the associatednutritional values. A tracking log 908 is also included for storing theassociated nutritional values or the modified associated nutritionalvalues based upon input from the user.

The tag reading system 900 may also include a food item creation module980 to enable the creation of nutritional tags for newly created footitems. A discovery module 930 is also included for providing the userwith a list of network-registered venues based on the user's currentlocation and the user's dietary preferences. This feature enables theuser to select a nearby venue offering items compatible with the user'sdietary preferences.

The tag reading system may also include a user search module 950 toenable the user to search the user's log, and to display information inthe venue fields. This is especially useful in cases where the user is acustomer of a specific venue. A menu display filter 960 isadvantageously included to enable the user to scan a unique venue tagand view a personalized menu of only those items that meet the user'sdietary requirements. Also included is a consumer application 970configured to use downloaded items to enable the user to substitute oneitem or sub-item with another item or sub-item. Finally, a local profiledatabase 906 may also be included in the tag reading system. (It shouldbe noted that querying of venue tags could go through the tracking logor the query could go right to the database 620 or 906 with the venueinformation with a request to match against certain user profileinformation contained in the user's profile.)

In the description above, sub-items may be formed from one or moreingredients. If more than one ingredient is included, the ingredientsare grouped together to form the sub-item. Items or menu items caninclude one or more sub-items. If more than one, the sub-items aregrouped together to form the item. A user can make changes to thesub-items based on actual consumption. In some cases those changes couldbe to ingredients if the sub-item contains only a single ingredient,e.g. butter. Changes to the ingredient lists denote changes to a recipe,not necessarily the user's consumption.

CONCLUSION

The true scope the present invention is not limited to the illustrativeembodiments disclosed herein. For example, the foregoing disclosure ofpresently preferred embodiment of a tag reading system uses explanatoryterms, such as tag capture device, decoder, and tracking log, whichshould not be construed so as to limit the scope of protection of thefollowing claims, or to otherwise imply that the inventive aspects ofthe system are limited to the particular methods and apparatusdisclosed. Moreover, as will be understood by those skilled in the art,many of the inventive aspects disclosed herein are based on softwareapplications running on known and ubiquitous hardware processingplatforms. These functional entities are, in essence, programmable datacollection and processing devices that could take a variety of formswithout departing from the inventive concepts disclosed herein. In somecases, the structural details of a given element, as well as the placeof implementation, of an element described herein will be a designer'spreference based on presently available technologies and costconstraints, and not a hard requirement. Accordingly, except as they maybe expressly so limited, the scope of protection of the following claimsis not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments describedabove.

We claim:
 1. A tag reading system configured for use with a nutritioninformation system, said nutrition information system including adatabase storing dietary product descriptions and associated nutritionalinformation, and a computer coupled to the database and configured togenerate a nutritional tag representing a subset of the dietary productdescriptions and associated nutritional information based upon one of aplurality of predetermined profiles, wherein the nutritional tagcomprises at least one of a header and visual effects indicative of thepredetermined profile, the tag reading system comprising: a tag capturedevice for reading the nutritional tag; a decoder for first decoding theheader or visual effects included in the nutritional tag to identify thepredetermined profile, and then decoding the nutritional tag to generatethe subset of the dietary product descriptions and associatednutritional values based upon the predetermined profile; a tracking logfor accumulating nutritional values extracted from previously readnutritional tags; a tracking log modification means for creatingmodified nutritional values in the tracking log based on foodsubstitutions selected by a user; and wherein the nutrition informationsystem is further configured to enable (i) a network service provider tomonitor user logs and provide alerts and suggestions regarding generaldietary trends and (ii) a user to provide subjective input concerninghow the user feels; the tag reading system is configured to log thetimes of food consumption and the times at which the user provides thesubjective input; and the nutrition information system is furtherconfigured to identify correlations between certain dietary or nutritiontrends and the user's subjective input, and to provide observationsabout such correlations to the user or third party identified by theuser.
 2. The tag reading system of claim 1, wherein the tracking logmodification means is configured to decompose the nutritionalinformation into constituent ingredients and amounts, and to modify theconstituent ingredients or amounts in accordance with user input toreflect the user's actual consumption.
 3. The tag reading system ofclaim 1, wherein the tracking log modification means is furtherconfigured to change portion size information for specific sub-items. 4.The tag reading system of claim 1, wherein the tracking log modificationmeans is further configured to make substitutions among sub-items andthen modify corresponding nutritional information accordingly.
 5. Thetag reading system of claim 2, wherein the tracking log modificationmeans is further configured to make a substitution for a sub-item andthen modify portion size information for the substituted sub-item.
 6. Atag reading system configured for use with a nutrition informationsystem, said nutrition information system including a database storingdietary product descriptions and associated nutritional information, anda computer coupled to the database and configured to generate anutritional tag representing a subset of the dietary productdescriptions and associated nutritional information based upon one of aplurality of predetermined profiles, wherein the nutritional tagcomprises at least one of a header and visual effects indicative of thepredetermined profile, the tag reading system comprising: a tag capturedevice for reading the nutritional tag; a decoder for first decoding theheader or visual effects included in the nutritional tag to identify thepredetermined profile, and then decoding the nutritional tag to generatethe subset of the dietary product descriptions and associatednutritional values based upon the predetermined profile; a tracking logfor accumulating nutritional values extracted from previously readnutritional tags; tracking log modification means for creating modifiednutritional values in the tracking log based on food substitutionsselected by a user; and wherein the nutritional tag further comprisesvenue fields populated by a registered venue and the venue fieldsinclude a venue network identifier, name of item to be tagged, price ofitem, and a flag indicating whether the item is subject to a promotion.7. The tag reading system of claim 6, wherein the tracking log isconfigured to enable the user to record venue order informationcorresponding to a past order at a specific venue.
 8. The tag readingsystem of claim 7, wherein the tag reading system further comprises anotifications module configured to remind the user of the past orderwhen the user enters the specific venue.
 9. The tag reading system ofclaim 8, wherein the notifications module is further configured toremind the user of the past order when the user enters a different venuewith the same menu as the specific venue.
 10. The tag reading system ofclaim 6, further comprising a venue discovery module for providing auser with a list of network-registered venues based on the user'sdietary preferences and current location as determined by a locationmodule, thereby enabling the user to select a nearby venue offeringitems compatible with the user's dietary preferences.
 11. The tagreading system of claim 6, wherein the nutrition information systemfurther includes a venue messaging module to enable a venue to send amessage to the user based on information contained in the tracking logor a user profile associated with the tag reading system.
 12. A tagreading system configured for use with a nutrition information system,said nutrition information system including a database storing dietaryproduct descriptions and associated nutritional information, and acomputer coupled to the database and configured to generate anutritional tag representing a subset of the dietary productdescriptions and associated nutritional information based upon one of aplurality of predetermined profiles, wherein the nutritional tagcomprises at least one of a header and visual effects indicative of thepredetermined profile, the tag reading system comprising: a tag capturedevice for reading the nutritional tag; a decoder for first decoding theheader or visual effects included in the nutritional tag to identify thepredetermined profile, and then decoding the nutritional tag to generatethe subset of the dietary product descriptions and associatednutritional values based upon the predetermined profile; a tracking logfor accumulating nutritional values extracted from previously readnutritional tags; tracking log modification means for creating modifiednutritional values in the tracking log based on food substitutionsselected by a user; and wherein each predetermined profile permitsnutritional data to be encoded in the form of numeric values withoutencoding units of measurement or a text description of the nutritionalinformation.
 13. The tag reading system of claim 12, wherein thetracking log modification means is configured to decompose thenutritional information into constituent ingredients and amounts, and tomodify the constituent ingredients or amounts in accordance with userinput to reflect the user's actual consumption.
 14. The tag readingsystem of claim 12, wherein the tracking log modification means isfurther configured to change portion size information for specificsub-items.
 15. The tag reading system of claim 12, wherein the trackinglog modification means is further configured to make substitutions amongsub-items and then modify corresponding nutritional informationaccordingly.
 16. The tag reading system of claim 13, wherein thetracking log modification means is further configured to make asubstitution for a sub-item and then modify portion size information forthe substituted sub-item.
 17. The tag reading system of claim 12,wherein the tracking log modification means is configured to send achange request to a network service provider, said change requestinstructing the network service provider to generate a modifiednutritional tag.
 18. The tag reading system of claim 17, wherein thechange request further instructs the network service provider to providethe modified nutritional tag for decoding and logging.
 19. The tagreading system of claim 18, wherein the tracking log is accessible tothe network service provider, and wherein the change request furtherinstructs the network service provider to make changes directly to theuser's data log.
 20. The tag reading system of claim 17, wherein thenutrition information system further includes a point of sale terminalconfigured to send a change request to the network service providerbased on an order or preference of a customer.
 21. The tag readingsystem of claim 13, wherein the tracking log is configured to enable theuser to record venue order information corresponding to a past order ata specific venue.
 22. The tag reading system of claim 21, wherein thetag reading system further comprises a notifications module configuredto remind the user of the past order when the user enters the specificvenue.
 23. The tag reading system of claim 22, wherein the notificationsmodule is further configured to remind the user of the past order whenthe user enters a different venue with the same menu as the specificvenue.
 24. The tag reading system of claim 12, further comprising avenue discovery module for providing a user with a list ofnetwork-registered venues based on the user's dietary preferences andcurrent location as determined by a location module, thereby enablingthe user to select a nearby venue offering items compatible with theuser's dietary preferences.
 25. The tag reading system of claim 12,wherein the nutrition information system further includes a venuemessaging module to enable a venue to send a message to the user basedon information contained in the tracking log or a user profileassociated with the tag reading system.
 26. The tag reading system ofclaim 12, wherein the nutrition information system is configured toenable a network service provider to monitor user logs and providealerts and suggestions regarding general dietary trends.
 27. The tagreading system of claim 26, wherein the nutrition information system isfurther configured to enable a user to provide subjective inputconcerning how the user feels.
 28. The tag reading system of claim 27,wherein the tag reading system is configured to log the times of foodconsumption and the times at which the user provides the subjectiveinput.
 29. The tag reading system of claim 28, wherein the nutritioninformation system is further configured to identify correlationsbetween certain dietary or nutrition trends and the user's subjectiveinput, and to provide observations about such correlations to the useror third party identified by the user.
 30. The tag reading system ofclaim 12, wherein the nutrition information system is further configuredto enable a network service provider to evaluate a venue's customerpurchases and provide suggestions to improve inventory and recipecosting.
 31. The tag reading system of claim 12, wherein the nutritionaltag further comprises a loyalty field configured to initiate a counterin the tracking log when an item is purchased by a user with a networkidentifier.
 32. The tag reading system of claim 31, wherein the trackinglog is configured to provide an alert to indicate availability of a freeor discounted purchase when a specified number of purchases are made.33. The tag reading system of claim 12, wherein the nutritional tagfurther comprises venue fields populated by a registered venue.
 34. Thetag reading system of claim 33, wherein the venue fields include a venuenetwork identifier, name of item to be tagged, price of item, and a flagindicating whether the item is subject to a promotion.
 35. The tagreading system of claim 33 further comprising a user search module toenable a user to search and view information in the venue fields. 36.The tag reading system of claim 12, further comprising a menu displayfilter configured to scan a unique venue tag and display a personalizedmenu of only those items that meet a user's dietary requirements. 37.The tag reading system of claim 12, further comprising a consumerapplication configured to use downloaded items to enable a user tosubstitute one item or sub-item with another item or sub-item.
 38. Thetag reading system of claim 12, further comprising a food item creationmeans for enabling the creation of nutritional tags for newly createdfoot items.
 39. The tag reading system of claim 38, wherein the fooditem creation means comprises a scrapbook application configured todisplay objects having ingredient information side by side with the fooditem creation display.
 40. The tag reading system of claim 39, whereinthe scrapbook application contains any combination of images, text,audio, and video objects.